


Earworms are an affront to nature

by littlemisstpk



Series: Earworms [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Memes, Soulmates, Soulmates where you hear the music that your soulmate gets stuck in their head, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-14
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2020-08-23 18:56:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20247697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlemisstpk/pseuds/littlemisstpk
Summary: In a world where soulmates share an internal radio, Tsukishima Kei is stuck with someone who survives off of memes and toddler songs.Written for Tsukihina Week 2019 Day 4: Soulmate AU





	1. Memes are not a part of a healthy breakfast

The first time that Tsukishima Kei hears the music, he is in the Sendai Municipal Gymnasium, warming up for his first match with his middle school team. It isn't as if he takes the Intermiddle competition seriously, often shirking his senpai duties and leaving them for Yamaguchi. But there is something disgusting about how seriously some of the people here take volleyball, especially those elites at Kitigawa Daichi. Still, Kei has to put in a small amount of effort in order to fly under the radar, so he puts his weight into the paired stretch that Yamaguchi helps him with. 

As Kei holds the contorted position, he hears the beginnings of a happy electronic tune, done in a sixteen-bit style. It isn't a familiar tune, so as soon as Kei hears it, he sits straight up, startling Yamaguchi at the same time, who narrowly avoids getting headbutted at the motion. 

“Do you hear that?” 

Yamaguchi looks at Kei as if he's mad. “Hear what?” 

Before Kei could reply, the melodic, electronic meowing starts, and his jaw goes slack in confusion at the sheer absurdity of what his brain is subjected to. Yamaguchi is puzzled, but it only takes him a couple moments for a shit-eating grin to cross his face in comprehension.

Kei scowls back at his friend. He knows the stories very well because of his hopeless romantic of a brother, that soulmates share a form of telepathy, limited to music. Lyrics come through the bond, but no “spoken” monologues, and Kei is currently glad for this small mercy, if his soulmate's going to be this  _ annoying. _

It's a short time later before he gets any reprieve from the endlessly looping music. Kei straightens out his Amemaru purple uniform as he rises to his feet, and out of the corner of his eye, he sees a tiny team in green getting absolutely obliterated by the Kitigawa bastards. 

(It doesn't help that Amemaru gets trounced by Kitigawa in round two, so when the elite team mutinies, Kei takes special pleasure in that.) 

* * *

It's nearly a year later when Kei finally experiences the music again. He lines up with his class during the opening ceremony, marvelling at the unnatural sheen of the vice principal's toupee as he ignores the empty words in the public address. It is at that point when he hears the electronic quality of a falling diatonic scale. Where Kei had to find out later that his first experience with soulmate music is linked to a pop-tartted cat in space, he is horrified when he actually recognizes this piece from the beginning. 

The worst part of the whole ordeal is the fact that Kei could clearly see the goofy dance and the too-wide smile before the middle-aged man “sings” inane lyrics in accented English. He punches Yamaguchi in the arm as payback for being the one to introduce him to the extremely catchy monstrosity. 

Yamaguchi hisses under his breath, “Ow! What was that for?” 

Kei glares at his friend, and keeps his voice low. “For showing me that awful video about the pens. I had enough trouble getting that song out of my head, and  _ my soul mate is having the same problem. _ ”

Yamaguchi's pain suddenly disappears, and instead, he snickers into his hand at his friend’s discomfort.

Behind them, one of the second years growls, “Shut up!”

Kei and Yamaguchi both snap to attention, but the jolt does nothing to diminish the glare on the taller boy’s face nor wipe the amused expression off Yamaguchi's. 

* * *

From the timing and the nature of the music in his head, Kei is able to determine three things about his soulmate. First, they do not live anywhere close to his house. The evenings are blissfully meme-free, and Kei uses the time to sooth his mind with classical music. Secondly, based on the number of times he has to fight off his soulmate’s distractibility during practice, they are in a club, just like him. Lastly, whoever's at the other end of the bond is an absolute magpie for pop culture references, as there are more than a few occasions where Kei had to fight off the opening of that superhero anime that his peers go apeshit over and he can't stand. 

To cope, Kei uses his large, white headphones to drown out the music invading his being at every single break in the day. Unlike his soulmate, he actually has taste in music that goes beyond “obscenely catchy”. He sings along to his music in his head, letting the lyrics from the song playing on his phone take over and fill his mind. He doesn’t care that his classmates call him “anti-social” and a “cold bastard”, he is simply getting some well-earned peace and quiet. As much as this strategy works, there are deep flaws in this plan, as Kei is not allowed to wear his headphones in class. The songs invading his brain range from mildly annoying (shoujo?) anime openings at the best of times, but then his counterpart gets into streaks of repeating the catchiest toddler songs ad nauseum. It's to the point where Kei understands that thousand-meter stare that all parents gain once their kids turn three.

This particular day, Kei looks through his notes as he solves another trigonometry equation. The Mii Channel music filters through his brain, and for once, it's not an impediment to him concentrating. He quietly hums along with the tune as it's presented while manipulating the equation in front of him to solve for the variables. When it comes to math, Kei's no slouch, and does his work quickly and accurately. But as he circles the solution to the final assigned problem for the day, he feels a little at peace (for once).

* * *

It's just before the Aoba Johsai practice match that Kei gets any indication of who his soulmate is. On the bus to the much larger school, he hears that same falling diatonic scale from the opening ceremony. If it were a normal school day still on Karasuno campus, Kei would have resigned himself to the torture of the insufferable earworm that he had nearly expunged from his brain, but instead, he perks up and looks around the bus at his teammates. Before he starts calculating who exactly is the shithead torturing him, they arrive at their destination, leaving Kei floundering in the ensuing onslaught.

Admittedly, Kei is stubborn enough not to devote a huge amount of brainpower to figuring out the identity of his soulmate. The only certainty that he has is that it's not Yamaguchi, who at any given moment hums along with the newest song of the shittiest idol groups in Japan which did not get broadcast directly into his brain. Kei considers this a small mercy for the torture he experiences every day. Instead, he focuses his attention towards intimidating the elites with whom Tanaka had decided to pick a fight.

(Kei doesn't realize that his unease at the Aoba Johsai campus is because his mind was distressingly silent as soon as they disembark.)

After they win, and Hinata finally returns to his normal, annoying self, and as Kei gets ready to board the bus once again, he hears the voice. It was annoying, yes, but the singing voice being broadcast into his mind was eerily familiar, singing about the bathroom of all places.

"Yamaguchi, have you seen Hinata recently?" Kei continues to pack the team's bags into the hold.

Yamaguchi looks at him with a confused expression. "Yeah, he went to the bathroom before we left."

Kei's face falls, and he pitches forward, his forehead rests on the bus window with a loud 'clunk'. "I know who my soulmate is," he replies, defeated.

Kei hears the laughter before he sees it, and he curses the fact that his best friend's mean streak is simply a little more quiet than his own. "Shut up, Yamaguchi."

* * *

It becomes easier to deal with the annoying music once Kei knows who he's dealing with. He isn't surprised when the batshit insane meme music switches to video game music shortly after their Golden Week training camp, where Hinata would regale the club with his stories of Kenma. It is always silent on the volleyball court during drills and games as he stares at Hinata through the net, trying to figure out the shrimp's next play. On occasion, Kei would hear the music he was using to block out Hinata's distractions being parroted back to him, which makes him smile despite himself. 

Despite the occasional smile, Kei curses the cosmos at his luck that not only is his soulmate too loud and too annoying, but it becomes more and more difficult to fly under the radar and put in the least amount of effort into volleyball. Hinata, as short as he is, seemingly has balls of steel as he squares off in front of Kei on a regular basis to play better, play longer, especially after they lose to Seijoh in the Interhigh. The part of Kei that wants to listen becomes louder and more insistent.

(Yamaguchi guilts him into tutoring the idiot duo when their attendance at the Tokyo training camps is in jeopardy; Kei tries not to let the close contact hum through his body like an electric current at Hinata's proximity.)

By the time that Karasuno joins the Fukurodani Academy group practices, Hinata and Kageyama stay behind to write make-up exams while the rest of the team travels onward. Kei is disconcerted by the silence in between practice matches, and it is odd to see Suga and Narita on the court rather than their odd, first year pair. Kenma questions Hinata's absence, and Kuroo sniggers at how predictable Karasuno is without their idiot duo. Anger flashes within Kei at the jibe against their missing teammates, but when Hinata and Kageyama enter the gym dramatically, the sight of all of Karasuno and most of Nekoma being heartened at the sight of the short middle blocker makes the jealousy curl within Kei, until he feels queasy and Yamaguchi looks at him with an unreadable expression.

When they return to Miyagi, Kei's mind becomes distressingly silent, even when he knows for a fact that Hinata is in range. The faint bruises blooming along the smaller middle blocker's jawline lends an additional level to his unpredictability, but as Kei watches Hinata through the net, it is the eyes that unsettles him the most. Gone is the cheerfulness that makes Hinata  _ Hinata,  _ leaving a gremlin whose gaze goes directly into Kei's soul without a single note of musical accompaniment. Five months ago, Kei would have cheered this development that gifted him silence; instead, he grieves the loss of the sounds. 

When they do return to Tokyo, Kei sees the smile gradually return to Hinata's face the more he hangs out with his friends at Nekoma. It even gets to the point where there's an uneasy truce between Hinata and Kageyama on the court, just enough for them to play a passable game while the team figures out new tactics. With Hinata more at ease, the silly music starts playing in Kei's brain once again.

While Hinata broadcasts a childish tune as he picks up a ball to do some free serve practice (this time a toddler song about sharks), the jealousy overtakes Kei. He's jealous of his energy level, jealous of his ability to make friends, and even of his ability to take major changes in stride and act on them. As the camp continues, it becomes clear that Kei's sole advantage, his height, is quickly being eclipsed by sheer determination. Disgusted, Kei moves to return to the team room, dismissing all the feeble attempts by his team to get him to join extra practice. 

Kei knows that if he really tries, he could bridge the gap between himself and Hinata through volleyball. As it is, Kei lets his mind wander to Beethoven's melodies, pre-emptively filling the airspace with something soothing. His former grief at the silence in his brain is replaced quickly by annoyance.

He snaps out of his festering, piteous thoughts as Yamaguchi runs towards him, yelling his nickname at a volume and speed so he could clearly hear the Doppler effect. Kei reels at the sound, as his friend, normally quietly snickering behind his back, rips into the target of the moment. After Yamaguchi caught up to him, Kei asked, "What?" after his friend managed to catch some air. 

Yamaguchi remains hunched over, struggling to speak in between breaths.

"You were always able to be cool and amazing in whatever you did-- blocking in volleyball, getting good grades, finding a soulmate faster than anyone else I know." He wipes the sweat off his face, and Kei could barely hear the next thing. "It makes me jealous."

The silence grows thick, and Yamaguchi draws himself to his full height. He is no longer the skinny, short boy who yelps in fear at his own shadow, but someone who could tower over most of his former bullies, exuding a confidence that only righteous anger seems to lend the meek. Yamaguchi looks Kei directly in the eye, and declares, "But now, you're being pathetic."

Yamaguchi puffs up in indignation, before continuing, "You've found your soulmate so early, that you don't realize how lucky you are to have one." Yamaguchi grabs the front of Kei's shirt, and pulls Kei towards him in his anger. "What else do you need to be happy?"

Just like that, Yamaguchi releases Kei's shirt and storms off into the night toward gym three.

* * *

When Kei returns to the team room, he lays on his futon, thinking about the words that Yamaguchi had shouted in his face as the soreness from the day finally set into his overworked muscles. He brings his phone close to his face, and starts to flip through his playlist. His old standbys of classical music don't catch his fancy at all, but when his absent scrolling lands on an old, standard love ballad, he taps it without another thought.

He turns up the volume and lets the lyrics wash over him, mumbling along to the familiar lyrics even though it happens to be a song that he would never admit to being one that he saved on his phone. The truth of the lyrics applied to his situation, and as he follows along, the more cathartic the song becomes. A small smile creeps onto Kei's face as he closes his eyes to immerse himself in the music coming through the headphones.

By the time the song ends, he opens his eyes to see Hinata directly in his face, panting in an attempt to catch his breath. Kei startles out of his futon, hurriedly taking his headphones off as he scrabbles away from the shorter boy with a cry. It's a miracle that he doesn't kick Hinata in his haste to move away. 

Kei's attempt to get a bit of personal space backfires as Hinata follows his movements, regarding him with wonder. "It's you."

"There's such a thing as personal space. You already invade my mind with inane songs; you don't need to actually get up in my face." 

With a small smile, Hinata sits beside Kei on the futon, close enough that Kei can definitely feel his presence, but far enough away that no one else could feel the energy surging between them. Kei places his hand in the space between Hinata's body and his hand, and he could feel the other boy's brain short-circuit at the action. 

As Hinata flops backward, stretching out on the futon, Kei hears the piano sonata, its second movement that always settles him down, playing in his brain, as perfectly rendered as if he were listening to it live. Kei gently lays down beside the other boy to revel in his moment of peace. 

It isn't long before that  _ fucking electronic scale _ plays in Kei's brain, who reflexively hits Hinata in the stomach. 

"You fucker. I just got that out of my head."

Hinata laughs. "I'm sorry. I can't help it." The small whine in his voice softens Kei's demeanour ever so slightly. 

As Hinata spins around to face Kei directly, a sparkle enters his eye. "Well, at least you can't complain that you'll ever be bored." 

As Kei gives Hinata a look, he sees the smile on the smaller boy's face, and silently agrees. 


	2. Green is not a colour most can pull off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yamaguchi, a romantic at heart, envies his friend for having a soulmate.

"Rubber chickens." Tsukki softly pounds the table where they're eating lunch while Yachi tutors the idiot pair. "He found a video where they were playing  _ Pachelbel's Canon _ , which is already super overplayed, on novelty squeak toys." 

Tadashi stifles a laugh and puts on his best poker face. "Oh really." 

The truth of the matter was, Tsukki finally fully acknowledged his soulmate bond to Hinata six months before, and as happy as Tadashi is for his best friend, there is a reason that he stayed by Tsukki's side for as long as he had. He has no regrets in pointing Hinata to the video simply because he's a bit of an asshole himself. 

"At least it isn't the one about the pens." Tadashi gives a non-apologetic smile towards his friend. 

Tsukki's face turns an interesting shade of purple, and before he could say anything, Tadashi hears a teacher yelling, "Stop running in the hallway!" and Hinata appearing at their classroom door. 

" _ YOU _ ." Hinata dramatically points at his boyfriend. "You left me tied up the last time I got it stuck in my head." 

Tsukki rolls his eyes at his boyfriend. "It's all about timing, dipshit." 

Tadashi excuses himself. "I'm going to go get ready for my next class." 

Hinata manages to get out, "But you're in the same--" before Tsukki shoots the shorter boy a death glare in order to shut up and let him leave. 

Tadashi is happy for his friend, he really is. He even grew up listening with rapt attention at the stories Tsukki’s brother shared, the shoujo-worthy tales of soulmates finding each other by broadcasting sweeping orchestral scores that were unique to each pair. But as much as he could now torture Tsukki and watch his hilarious apoplectic face at a new meme song getting stuck in his head (how predictable), he's allowed to feel jealousy at his best friend's newfound and sure to be permanent happiness.

He could do without Hinata’s candor about their love life though. 

By the time Tadashi wanders close to their team's gym, a poke on his shoulder alerts him to Tsukki behind him. 

"You know having a soulmate isn't the be-all-to-end-all? I still need my best friend." 

Tsukki gives Tadashi a small, apologetic smile of the likes that no one would believe existed on the taller boy’s face. However, Tadashi still feels a subtle curl within his chest that doesn’t fully extend to his stomach, showing that not everything is completely right, but it's better than before, which is something he would take instead. 

* * *

It isn't long after when they go to Tokyo for nationals. The excitement of being in the capital to prove how strong of a team they are pushed out the lingering feelings of jealousy, instead making it an occasion that Tadashi fully looks forward to. They are only a couple kilometers away from the Orange Court on the train to the stadium when it starts. 

It sounds like heavily distorted guitars, and it's like nothing Tadashi would ever listen to on his own. Admittedly, he likes listening to idol groups because he appreciates the harmonies and the dance moves, but this is above and beyond that. 

The confusion is super evident on his face, because Hinata points and loudly declares, "Whoa! No wonder Yamaguchi couldn't find his soulmate! They were in Tokyo!" 

Tsukki gives Hinata a soft whack, just enough to fluff the hair at the back of his head. "We've been in Tokyo before, and he didn't hear anything." 

Kageyama's scowl takes on a flavour that Tadashi had never seen before. 

It's hard to think with the death metal blaring in his brain, and Tadashi has a new appreciation for his best friend suffering, and  _ almost _ regrets his part in continuing it. "But we are going to nationals, so we're going to be around teams we haven't been around before". 

The distorted screaming (which did not sound healthy at all) lifts just enough for Tadashi to make out the deep voice singing,  _ My brother is a douche,  _ before continuing its unintelligible streak. 

"It's hard to do, but you can block it out." Kageyama shuffles his grip on the strap rather than look at his teammates. 

The veins on Tsukishima's face nearly explode in anger. "You've been holding back this information?" After a deep breath, he pinches the bridge of his nose, directly under his glasses.

Kageyama shrugged and smiled slightly. "It's fun watching you suffer." 

Tadashi raised his voice over Hinata's excited chatter. "How?" He was worried about his serves, his one true offering to the team. 

Kageyama looked directly into Tadashi's eyes. "If you're in the zone, then you can't hear the soulmate music in your head anymore." 

Tadashi gets chills from the look Kageyama gives him, as he realizes that not only does the setter know who his soulmate is, it's also not a happy situation. With a look to the train floor, Tadashi recalls how his training with Shimada now centred on focus and breathing. He could only hope it was enough if he was needed in-game. 

* * *

To Tadashi's surprise, his moment on the court comes much sooner than he anticipates. He prepares himself to be content with marvelling at the cavernous hall accompanied by a soundtrack that really gets his heart pumping, but it isn't that far into the first set against Tsubakihara when he's given the paddle and told to wait on the sideline. 

As he takes his position at the end of the court, the green exit sign catches his eye as a good focal point. The whistle blows, and Tadashi focuses all of his energy onto that sign in the distance, and sure enough, the music becomes indistinct and he visualizes his serve going over the net. With an exhale, he tosses the ball in the air, and starts his run-up. 

The first serve goes a little too close to the libero for his liking, but Tsubakihara hesitates for just long enough to be easily blocked by Karasuno's wall, led by Tsukki. His second serve bounces easily off of number ten's fingertips, and the roar of the crowd cheering for him and him alone fills Tadashi with a heady buzz that makes him feel on top of the world. His streak ends when Tsukki isn't quite fast enough to block the quick coming in. 

It's enough of a nail biter of a game for Tadashi not to notice how alone he is in his mind, even through his mistake of a serve in the third set. It's only as he leaves the stadium with his team that the music returns. 

* * *

"So, what's it like?" Hinata sits on his heels, looking expectantly at Tadashi from his perch a couple shower heads over, cleaning up the sweat and grime from the game earlier. 

Tadashi soaps up, and thinks for a moment. "Lots of electric guitars. Not bad, just"--Tadashi hesitates for a moment--"different." 

"Give the man a break, dumbass." Tsukki calls over to Hinata from the bath where he lounges in the hot water. 

Tadashi smiles, for once having all the positive attention on him. "I know that my soulmate is a guy, and that he thinks his brother is a 'douchebag.'" 

Tsukki rolls his eyes. "Well, you went from describing all of Tokyo to just two million people. We're making progress here." 

Tadashi finishes with the shower head. "Says the person who didn't figure out who his soulmate was until they sang about the bathroom." He walks over, and entering the water, gives Tsukki a grin laced with a sense of challenge. 

While Hinata questions his friend about this tidbit of new information, Tadashi glances towards Kageyama, who glares at the surface of the water like it just personally insulted him. He furrows his brow, and asks, "Are you okay, Kageyama? You haven't said anything since we got back to the inn." 

"'M fine," Kageyama mumbles. 

Tadashi tries to change the subject, and he remembers their conversation on the train earlier. "Hey, that trick you told me about earlier worked wonders. Thanks for that." He smiles, and continues, "What's your soulmate like?" 

Kageyama spins around, and makes to leave the bath. "I'm not talking about this." 

Tadashi tries to backtrack. "I'm sorr--" 

"I SAID I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT IT!" Kageyama roars back, quickly toweling off in the stunned silence as he escapes to their room. 

* * *

In the preparation for their next match, Tadashi makes note of Kageyama's pinched face when Ukai talks about Inarizaki's setter, Miya. He also catches Kageyama calling Miya a "fucking asshole" under his breath, and Tadashi has to stifle a giggle. 

When they step onto the court for their official warm-ups, Tadashi finds not just one Miya, but a second one that looks exactly like him, and a full stadium worth of fans cheering for them both. He's not willfully obtuse like Tsukki, nor is he an idiot like Kageyama and Hinata, so Tadashi is open to the possibility of the thoroughly annoyed version of Miya being his soulmate, even if he is plain and doesn’t have his own legion of fans to cheer him on.

Tadashi turns to Hinata, and asks, "What’s the catchiest song you can think of in two seconds?" 

Ignoring the soft curse from Tsukki, Hinata replies, "The chicken song you showed me. Why?" 

Tsukki, looking ready to explode, is stopped by a finger indicating Tadashi's need for relative silence. "I think I know who my soulmate is. I just need to test it."

With a deep breath and a shrug accepting this fact, Tsukki calms down. Instead, Tadashi uses a rare lull in the din, and puts all his attention into recalling the exact nature of each plasticky squawk, edited one on top of each other to mimic the famous harmonies of  _ Pachelbel's Canon _ . By the time Tadashi remembers the notes playing quicker, he sees the second Miya perk up and look around curiously. Tadashi's heart skips a beat, and he releases the breath he had been holding. 

"I know who my soulmate is," Tadashi mutters, almost under his breath with a relieved smile. It's enough for Hinata to catch it and bounce excitedly. 

Before too long, the game starts, and Tadashi takes his position in the player’s box on the sidelines, and proceeds to watch the game unfold before his eyes.

One of the first things that becomes abundantly clear as the match begins, is that while the crowd roars as Karasuno serves, the overwhelming noise quiets to a muffled roar as Tadashi watches the spiker Miya. He reminds himself that his name is Osamu, and as he rotates through the plays and the points earned, Tadashi watches with rapt attention.

By the time Osamu gets in position to serve, Tadashi’s mouth dries, and he’s familiar with how the spiker’s muscles fill out his uniform nicely, even as he holds the volleyball in preparation for the serve. The whistle blows, and Osamu looks at the same spot on the ground as his countdown counts down, and Tadashi admires his guts as he tosses the ball in the air to complete the serve at the last possible moment. Osamu’s jump shows off the muscles in his arms and legs, and Tadashi has to bat away Sugawara’s elbow jabbing him in the side in an effort to rouse his attention. It doesn’t matter; even as Osamu hits his own version of the freak quick, as he gets round Hinata’s commit block, or as he tosses effortlessly when Atsumu is unable to, Tadashi’s heart pounds loudly within his chest.

Near the end of the set as the score is tied, Ukai hands Tadashi his paddle in an attempt to regain some points. When he gets on the court, the sounds overwhelm him. Even if Osamu wasn’t in the zone, the screams of the Inarizaki fans and the taiko drum group serving as Karasuno’s cheering squad would have surely drowned out whatever musical weapon being tossed his way. Instead, Tadashi positions himself along the edge of the court, twirling the ball in his hands as he looks towards the green exit sign. He feels the beginnings of an anxiety attack constricting his innards, but before he could fully panic, he sees Shimada holding up a familiar bag near where the sign should be visible. Nearly instantly, the sounds become fuzzy, and his mind clears, until the whistle blows, and Tadashi tosses the ball in the air.

The first serve drops satisfyingly at the right edge of the court, and as Tadashi celebrates his moment of victory, he catches Osamu’s slightly interested gaze, and reminds himself that it’s just because he scored a service ace. With the second serve, Inarizaki’s libero digs it, and Tadashi can only shield his face from Osamu’s oncoming spike that ends his run on the court. Tadashi turns towards his soulmate, who is smugly smiling directly at him.

The rest of the game goes by in an exciting blur, and throughout it all, Tadashi is focussed on a single person: Osamu. He marvels at Osamu’s strength when he drills the scoreboard with a home run fastball serve. He barely keeps enough composure when he gets subbed in to serve, slipping just enough for Inarizaki to catch Tadashi’s serves and end his run. By the time the end of the third set comes around, Tadashi is completely amped up, even as Osamu tosses a quick to his brother, which Hinata picks up and gains the game-winning point.

When Sugawara roars his delight at Yamaguchi’s side, the sounds of incredulity from the crowd overwhelm Tadashi’s senses. He grabs onto his senpai before he keels over, forty minutes of adrenaline-soaked silence taking a toll on his mind and body. Sugawara looks at Tadashi curiously. “You look like you were out on the court for the entire time.”

Tadashi laughs. “I wasn’t, but my soulmate was.” He finds the strength to stand on his own, but he fails to brace himself from the very enthusiastic series of celebratory smacks on his back from his senpai, and wheezes as he tries to catch his breath.

The team slowly makes their way towards where they stashed their bags before the game, and while the regulars nearly napped while they put on their tracksuits, Tadashi watches as Inarizaki enters the area to retrieve their things, an overly-emotional ballad about teenage angst filling his head. Thinking quickly, he runs over to Yachi, and grabs her hands. “Please tell me that you have some paper and something to write with ready.”

Yachi lets out a small squeak of surprise, but she manages to tamp down on her initial spike of anxiety as she yells, “Yes!” in a high-pitched, too-loud voice.

Tadashi releases her hands, and she hands him her notebook and a pen. He scribbles his email on the back page, and rips it out of the book. Bowing quickly, he says, “Thank you so much for your help,” before jogging off to where the Miyas are gathering their things.

He realizes the fatal flaw in his plan was that it actually required a certain amount of bravery to execute, and that bravery left his body somewhere between point A and point B. Staring at the twins (who bicker more than Kageyama and Hinata), Tadashi recalls the newest song with the adorable dance moves in an attempt to calm his nerves as he wills his feet to move forward.

“Can I speak to Miya-san?” Tadashi’s voice rings out clearly, and both of the twins look in his direction as he realizes his mistake.

Atsumu starts to approach Tadashi. “I don't deal with scrubs.”

Tadashi levels a glare at Atsumu. “My mistake. I meant to talk to your brother.”

Atsumu looks affronted, and as Osamu moves forward curiously, Tadashi focuses on the instrumental section featuring the most robust part of the dance routine for this song. By the time he opens his eyes, both the twins are looking at him with an expectant stare.

He blurts out, “I think you’re my soulmate.”

Osamu’s eyebrows lift high enough to be hidden by his fringe, and Atsumu crosses his arms in front of him. “Prove it. Prove you’re my brother’s soulmate.”

Tadashi looks between the pair, and looks at Osamu. “You like metal, you sing in your head how your brother is a douchebag. You get confused at classical music being played on squeaky toys, and, if you had the option, you’d have emo music stuck in your head right now.” Tadashi keeps his eyes trained on Osamu, who looks thoroughly shocked.

(He does catch Atsumu’s horribly amused expression at his brother’s embarrassment.)

“Please,” Tadashi continues. He holds out the scrap of paper with his email address towards the grey-haired twin. “You live halfway across the country, but this is a chance.”

Osamu takes the paper almost reverently, and when he opens his mouth to speak, Atsumu points at his brother, starts singing loudly, “‘Samu’s got a boyfriend! ‘Samu’s got a boyfriend!”

Osamu’s face turns bright red, and he punches his brother in the jaw, yelling, “Shut up, asshole!”

Tadashi snickers into his hand as he turns back towards his team, and by the time he reaches his phone, he already finds an email waiting for him.

_ Unknown: Man, I hate that guy. _


	3. Drama is an abscess that must be drained

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After returning home from Nationals, Kageyama broods upon the issue of his soulmate.

Three weeks after they return from nationals, Tobio finds his teammates still walking on eggshells around him. He looks back at the moment in the inn’s bath, where he blew up at his fellow first years, and regrets the magnitude of his reaction. The part he doesn’t regret, however, is trying to find some peace from a sore topic.

It’s hard to be excited about a soulmate who not only does not know about the link, but happens to hate your guts as well.

His relative peace is interrupted in the space of time between school dismissing and practice starting. Yamaguchi nests in the back corner of the club room, smiling at his phone, something that has become his new normal after finding his soulmate halfway across Japan. Tsukishima begins the process of changing into his practice clothes, but Hinata marches towards Tobio, fury evident on his face.

“I’m tired of this, Bakayama.” Hinata whips his arms behind him to where Tsukishima and Yamaguchi are. “You’ve been extra-scowly since Tokyo, and I’m tired of it.”

Instead of the familiar spike of adrenaline and fear that makes Tobio want to punch and yell at whatever is causing it, he feels a deadly calm wash over him. “Do you know what it feels like to have your soulmate hate your guts, but not know you exist?” Tobio lets the question linger, as he watches the fear settle on his three teammates’ faces.

Tobio closes the locker with a bang, and as he turns to go to the gym, he’s stopped by Hinata grabbing his track suit sleeve. “Let me help.” Tobio turns to look his friend in the face, and there is something indescribable in Hinata’s expression that makes even him soften in his stubbornness, as Yamaguchi looks at him with concern over his phone, and Tsukishima clearly pities him.

Tobio gives a small nod in agreement.

* * *

“When did you know?”

It's Hinata’s idea for the four of them to lazily toss the ball between them. While Tobio isn't happy about including Tsukishima as part of the problem solving crew, the asshole does happen to be significantly smarter than his boyfriend. The activity distracts Tobio from the hurt feelings that glue his mouth shut and render him unable to speak, but isn't super taxing. 

“First year of middle school. I walked into the opening ceremony, and I heard a made-up song about aliens.”

Yamaguchi titters as he returned the ball to Tobio, prompting Tsukishima’s reliable, “Shut up, Yamaguchi.”

Another couple tosses are traded in silence, before Tsukishima adds, “Why doesn’t he know that you exist?”

The sound of Hinata’s almost libero quality dig reverberates through Tobio’s mind. “Musical sounds don’t make sense. I mean--” Tobio tosses beautifully to Yamaguchi -- “I like listening to music well enough, it sounds nice when I hear it, but I can never remember how it goes after it’s done.”

Yamaguchi fumbles the rally, and as he runs after the ball, Tsukishima turns towards Tobio. “Do you think if you listened to music, it would transmit to your soulmate?” Hinata’s eyes sparkle at the idea.

Tobio scratches at his chin. “I’ve never thought about it.” He shrugs. “It’s worth trying though.”

* * *

He gets his chance a week later as he gets some groceries for his father, hearing a small ditty about milk bread in his head. He takes out his phone, and finds the playlist that Tsukishima made for him. Tobio is touched at the care that the taller boy takes in the playlist, even if he masks it with, "Your soulmate will already have to suffer by dealing with your personality." 

Tobio puts a single earbud in his ear, watches as Oikawa and Iwaizumi enter the otherwise deserted conbini, and promptly looks at the snacks available to buy. When he presses play, a sedate song with acoustic guitars begins, and Tobio lets the music wash over him. He is vaguely familiar with the song itself, and as he puts more of his mind toward recalling the melody and words as Oikawa perks up and looks around. 

"What?" Iwaizumi looks displeased at Oikawa's pause. "You're too shitty to even finish your sentence?" 

Oikawa smiles naturally, and let's out a laugh. "No, not shitty, just surprised." He looks pensive. “My soulmate is somewhere close by.”

Iwaizumi’s eyes widen. “I thought you said you didn’t have one.”

Oikawa pats Iwaizumi on the shoulder. “Now now, Iwa-chan. Just because you haven’t met your soulmate, doesn’t mean you can rain on my parade.”

Tobio gingerly places his basket of groceries on the counter, hoping that the pair don’t notice him in the store.

It doesn’t work, as Oikawa calls out, “Yoohoo! Tobio-chan!” Tobio lets out a sigh, as he braces himself for the onslaught that always comes with Oikawa’s thoughts. “You wouldn’t happen to have seen a girl hanging around here, have you? Drop dead gorgeous, just like me?"

A nauseating swell of orchestral music like those the romances Yamaguchi subjected him to right after the Shiratorizawa game assaults Tobio's brain. "No, it's just me." 

Oikawa's face drops. "Seriously, I got my first clue about who my soulmate is. You haven't seen them?" 

Iwaizumi's eyes widen, as he looks between his friend's confused expression and Tobio's increasingly aggravated face. 

"No, it's just me." Tobio hardens his face until the King of the Court makes a full return as he pays for his supplies. "I'm your soulmate. You sing your thoughts way too much to not be obvious." 

It's almost worth it, to see Oikawa's flabbergasted expression amidst Iwaizumi's murderous one, but Tobio doesn't stick around to find out more. 

* * *

Sundays are not a day that Tobio gets to sleep in, because there's often too much to do around the house. His father works hard, his mother left when Tobio was a small child, leaving him with free rein of the place. As a result, Tobio gets up early and deep cleans the house before he relaxes for the day. 

He hears Oikawa's approach before he hears the knock. It’s almost off-putting, the fact that no insults are screaming through the bond; instead, Tobio hears a wordless ditty that often accompanied a mental onslaught that required him to block out the intrusive thoughts. As he approaches the front door, Tobio’s hand shakes with anticipation.

Oikawa’s hair is still as envious as ever, but as Tobio takes in the moment where Oikawa looks dejected on his doorstep, he can’t help but feel a pang at the growing, fresh black eye the other boy is sporting.

The moment is gone, and Oikawa flashes him a media smile with no substance. “Tobio-chan, you came!”

Tobio glares at the intruder as he leans on the doorframe. “It’s the quickest way to get you to leave.”

Oikawa’s uninjured eye widens. “Why would you want your soulmate to leave?”

Tobio drops his hand from the door, and turns to close the door. “Goodbye, Oikawa.”

Oikawa places his hand so that if Tobio were to slam the door shut, it would squish his fingers. “I don’t owe anything to you.” Tobio starts picking Oikawa’s fingers off the doorframe in an attempt to close the door.

“Can I at least come in and explain?” Oikawa’s eyes show a level of panic Tobio has never seen before.

“No.”

He manages to close the door, and with the lock engaged, Tobio starts his slightly rusty routine of blocking out noises, both inside his brain and in his surroundings. It’s enough, because he’s not sure when the pounding at the door or the frantic calling of his name finally stopped, but it’s certainly before his father returns home.

* * *

Tobio is just about to go into the gym to start his warm-ups, when he hears Hinata causing a different sort of commotion than normal. As he turns in the direction of where Hinata is loudly creating a fuss, he sees Iwaizumi’s unmistakable hair, and more notably, no Oikawa tagging along. Instead of continuing straight to the gym, Tobio’s footsteps take him closer to where his former senpai stands.

“What are you doing? You’re not allowed here!” Hinata loudly yells in Iwaizumi’s face, but the short boy doesn’t see Tobio standing directly behind him. Instead, he catches his senpai’s eyes.

“I’m here to talk to Kageyama about his soulmate.” Tobio’s stomach does a flip at the off-hand mention of Oikawa.

“Whoa, you know who Kageyama’s soulmate is?” Hinata finally goes quiet, and is even slightly reverent at the news. That only lasts for a moment, as he gets excited. “So, who is it?”

Tobio frowns. “It’s Oikawa.” He points at the gym. “You need to go there, and let Ukai know I’m going to be late.”

Hinata begins to protest, but is cut off by a breathless Tsukishima dragging his boyfriend forcibly to the gym. He obviously uses the soulmate bond to communicate silently, because the expressions on Hinata’s face went from angry, to blank, until it rested on a blushing smile.

Shaking that mental image out of his brain, Tobio turned to Iwaizumi, who began, “I’m not on his side. He’s the pettiest piece of shit that I know.”

The expression that Tobio gives Iwaizumi is not truly a smile, but it’s not a full scowl either. It lasts only a moment before he settles back into his normal frown. “Then why are you here?”

“We were at the same school for a full year, and saw each other at lots of other tournaments after that, and he had no indication. What’s going on?”

“Music notes get jumbled in my brain, but that doesn’t happen when I’m watching a video, or something.” Tobio tells his situation tonelessly and without emotion.

Iwaizumi’s eyebrows raise, and he exclaims. “Wow, that’s big.”

Tobio shrugs. “I tried to tell him through volleyball. I think you remember what happened that day.”

Iwaizumi covers his mouth, as he looks anywhere but at Tobio. Tobio’s memory flashes to watching Oikawa’s fist come hurtling towards his face, and Iwaizumi manhandling his best friend away. It was also the moment that fully fractured whatever positive relationship Tobio might have had with his soulmate. He lets out a relieved sigh as Iwaizumi doesn't immediately take his friend's side. 

Iwaizumi places his hand on Tobio's shoulder and looks him directly in the eye. "Thank you," he says, in a softer, more considerate tone than the gruff, grumpy nature that he typically displays towards his best friend. 

He turns away, fuming, but even Tobio, with his lack of social graces, is able to gather that it is not directed at him, but rather on his behalf. 

* * *

Tobio has a month of peace, which goes by in a flash. Between final exams and March Tournament prep, the Oikawa problem jettisons itself from his mind as quickly and as strongly as his serve. 

It's a relief to no longer be the sole subject of morbid curiosity, but he could do without the pitying looks from his cohort, and the well-meaning but condescending pat on the shoulder from Yamaguchi. Tobio surrenders himself to the flow of volleyball, the familiar routine that has always been there for him, even when the rest of his team had abandoned him. He’s left with his hand stinging and a cart full of volleyballs strewn across the opposite end of the court, but it’s the first triumphant feeling he’s had since the third years retired from the club.

He scowls at Hinata, who has already started his pre-game pee dance. Tobio allows himself a small smile as Tsukishima pushes his boyfriend towards the bathroom. “People would be less likely to mistake you for a child if you stopped acting like one.” Tobio might get songs about his face getting punched in amongst the silly ditties about candy, pastries and aliens when he's in range of the music, but he has a reprieve, as Oikawa lives just out of range and goes to a different school. Tsukishima had only half this luck.

By the time Tobio reaches the court, not only is he bombarded by the sounds of teams warming up, but he hears girls singing in peppy harmonies filtering through his brain. He can’t fully remember the tune to try and identify it, but he doesn’t need to: it’s enough for him to know that his soulmate has shown up to spectate.

His brain goes silent as Karasuno goes through their warm-up drills before Dateko does theirs. As Tobio works to find his setting groove during the precious time before the match, he almost forgets that his brain is vulnerable to an onslaught of unwanted thoughts. It isn't until he has a chance to look over the opposing players that he hears the sing-song, "Eyebrows is favouring his left leg." 

It's subtle enough that Tobio himself might have missed the signs until they were into the second set, but Aone's step does have a slight hitch to it's rhythm. He looks across the gym, and finds Oikawa sitting halfway up the spectator area, large glasses obscuring his face only slightly. Their eyes meet, and other than a small smile to acknowledge Tobio's existence, Oikawa doesn't do anything to embarrass himself or Tobio, thankfully. 

The sets go by extremely quickly, and it's partly due to Oikawa transmitting Dateko's team signals through their soulmate bond. Karasuno has barely broken a sweat by the time they see the second set score of 25-17, and Tobio doesn't know how to process the fact that this was possible mostly through Oikawa's help. He opts to leave the gym with his team instead. 

His thoughts slow his steps, until the rest of the team is nearly out of earshot. He curses himself at leaving himself vulnerable when Oikawa is lurking around. 

“Yoohoo! Tobio-chan!” Oikawa calls out to him as he uses his long legs to quickly cover the distance between the steps leading to the spectator area and the main doors to the gymnasium. “That was a great game, except you could have--”

“JUST STOP!” Tobio’s yell in the middle of the gym lobby echoes as people look and stare in his direction, and his eyes close tightly as he projects his voice. Catching his breath, Tobio continues, “You always talk, but you never listen.” He looks at Iwaizumi, who looks angry enough to give his best friend another black eye.

Iwaizumi doesn’t even need to threaten Oikawa into submission, the glare on Tobio’s face is enough to tear the normally flippant expression off the third year's face. He's serious, but the normal malice that Tobio is used to seeing on Oikawa's face when he realizes that his junior is there hasn't made an appearance on his face. 

"I don't think I can ever trust you." 

Tobio walks away, and Oikawa doesn't follow. 

* * *

For over five years, Tobio has peace and quiet in his mind. It's difficult to be ambushed by an unwanted soulmate when he's halfway around the world, but the almost-tuneless ditties about mundane tasks that would randomly pepper Tobio's days become one of those things that he misses, until he remembers the ones about his face being punched in. It's that last fact that makes him look up the small anti-soulmate movement that's slowly gaining traction internationally. 

It's the selfie that changes everything. 

It's either a picture that he can hear, or Hinata's yell has gotten to be so loud that he can actually hear it, all the way from Rio. Oikawa is also making a ridiculous face, and for the first time ever, Tobio wonders what is going on behind those brown eyes. Being out on his own and making his own money has changed Tobio just enough; it wouldn't be a stretch if Oikawa did as well. 

It's on Hinata's next Kenma-funded visit home that he finds his best friend laying back on his dorm room bed, looking up at the ceiling. 

"You know, you should look at getting your own place, instead of the one they provide for you." He pokes at the hard mattress with his elbow. "Your bed sucks."

Tobio shrugs. "It works well enough for me." 

"With all your money, you could buy yourself some privacy." 

"Says the guy with his own personal sugar daddy." 

Hinata laughs as he pushes himself up. After a moment of silence, he changes the subject. "You know, he is different now." 

Tobio turns to give his best friend a disbelieving look. 

Hinata back pedals. "I mean, I really, really,  _ really _ , wanted to squash him in first year. But now? But now?" He laughs at the memories. "He's a funny weirdo who's kinda bad at beach volleyball." 

Tobio furrows his brow, pondering the new information. The photo  _ did _ stir up the lingering threads of curiosity about how things have changed since leaving high school, so Tobio landed on giving Oikawa a chance. 

He comes out of his thoughts with a swift poke to his forehead, and Hinata laughing at him. "You know, he's in Japan right now, right?" he settles into a smile. "I can set something up." 

Tobio thinks for a few moments, and then the idea comes to him. "Can you make it a surprise that I'm going to be there?" 

Hinata smiles mischievously. His best friend may not be an academic, but when it comes to people, he's an unintentional genius. 

It's how Tobio finds himself approaching a cafe in Sendai, listening to the old familiar ditty about milk bread and coffee. He smiles at how some things don't change, and that away from the insults, it's actually a cute habit. 

"Tooru!" Hinata calls out to the other man, waving his arms to catch Oikawa's attention. He bounces upwards, and there's a skip in his step as envelops Hinata in a hug. 

"Sho-" His greeting is cut off as Oikawa finally notices Tobio's presence. Instead of the insults that would have pervaded his brain in middle school, Tobio is met with silence. It's unnerving, and Tobio finds himself almost preferring the familiarity of hearing about what violence he deserves. 

Instead, Oikawa releases Hinata from the hug, and moves towards Tobio. "To-" Oikawa stops mid-word, and shakes his head to correct himself. "Kageyama, it's good to see you." 

At the sound of his family name in the air and the happy music in his brain, Tobio relaxes, gets his own coffee, and takes a seat. 

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to come scream with me about HQ in general, when I'm not on Discord, I'm found on [Twitter. ](https://twitter.com/littlemisstpk?s=09) I live off of validation.


End file.
